Three members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation — U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and U.S. Reps. Angie Craig and Dean Phillips, all Democrats — were flagged in a New York Times analysis for financial transactions that highlight ethical concerns about potential conflicts of interest by lawmakers.
The three lawmakers are among 97 member of Congress who “bought or sold stock, bonds or other financial assets that intersected with their congressional work or reported similar transactions by their spouse or a dependent child,” the Times reported Tuesday, citing financial filings made by the lawmakers.
In separate statements, Smith, Craig and Phillips all noted that they did not personally perform the transactions connected to them, or even know about them at the time.
Federal lawmakers aren’t banned from buying or selling stocks or other investments for any company, even if those transactions might affect their decision making. No other members of Congress from Minnesota were flagged in the Times report.
Here’s a summary of each lawmaker’s situation:
REP. ANGIE CRAIG
In 2019, Craig reported transactions made by her son that included trading shares of Lyft and Ford, the Times reported. She sat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee at the time.
Craig, whose 2nd District includes parts of the south metro, actually supports legislation that would ban members of Congress from trading stock, and the former medical sector executive sold her individual stocks prior to being sworn into office in 2019, her office said. Craig didn’t know that her 19-year-old son was dabbling in day trading with money he inherited from his grandfather, the office said.
In a statement, Craig said: “As a mom, I would be grateful if my college student son was not allowed to own or trade stocks. And as a member of Congress, I’m working to pass a law to force him to listen to his mother.”
Craig is running for re-election against Republican Tyler Kistner and Paula Overby of the Legal Marijuana Now party.
REP. DEAN PHILLIPS
Phillips bought or sold stocks and bonds from more than two dozen banks, including Wells Fargo, which was being investigated by the House Financial Services Committee, on which Phillips sits, according to the Times. He also serves on the House Ethics Committee.
Phillips, a former business magnate and one of the wealthiest members of Congress, has not directed any of his trades since being elected in 2018, his office told the Times. In early 2020, he hired a law firm to move his stocks into a blind trust, but that process wasn’t completed until July 2021, and he’s still in the process of moving some of his assets.
“Congressman Phillips has voluntarily held himself to the highest ethical standards, acting against his own financial interests in doing so,” the spokesperson told the Times.
Phillips is running for re-election in the 3rd District, which includes west metro suburbs, against Republican Tom Weiler.
SEN. TINA SMITH
Smith reported trades by her husband Archie, a longtime investor in medical device companies, including trades with two insulin equipment makers, the Times reported. Smith has been involved with legislation that would affect insulin access and pricing — although it’s unclear what effect those measures might have on the companies her husband owned shares in.
He sold the stocks on March 17, 2020 — the precipice of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated plummeting of the markets. A spokesman for Smith called the sale “a simple business decision for Archie.”
In a statement, Smith said: “Like a lot of families, my husband Archie and I have two very different jobs — and we keep them completely separate. Archie’s job is to invest in medical device companies, which he has done most of his career since we moved to Minnesota in 1984. I do not know about and have absolutely no role in any of his investment decisions.”
Smith’s term expires at the end of 2027.
Source: twincities.com
